


Sparks in the Night

by kromatus



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coffee Shops, F/F, F/M, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, Multi, Soulmates, Unrequited Crush, i know i'm doing 2 cliche tropes in one but it's worth it i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 16:57:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17491757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kromatus/pseuds/kromatus
Summary: Soulmate sparks, better known just as Sparks, were a common occurrence. Every person has a soulmate in the world. Each person in the pair, when making direct contact, will feel a jolt of electricity through their body, resembling a static shock. Sometimes, the two sensations can be confused... It was annoying. Katie couldn’t care less about her soulmate. She would be perfectly content without having one, but she knew that they were out there. Somewhere.





	Sparks in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, Fairia, for the prompt! I hope I do it justice.

Mornings were always rougher than later in the afternoon. Students and teachers all rushing the counter to get their morning coffee before making their way to their classes, study sessions, or jobs. The strong smell of coffee brewing filled behind the counter, the chatter of the people in the coffee house growing more and more cacophonous. Katie sipped her own cup of coffee in the back room, hiding from her responsibilities. Her shift didn’t start for ten minutes, and she was using her time wisely -- by hiding in the backroom, caffeinating herself into consciousness, and playing a mobile game on her phone. Each tap was less and less mindless the more the caffeine flowed through her veins, igniting her body into a functioning state.

Every few moments, her phone would vibrate alongside her receiving various text messages and notifications. She ignored them all. It was too early to reply or even read most of them, and others she knew she would binge read on her first break.

The alarm took over the screen of her phone, blocking her game until she either snoozed or dismissed it. “Now or never, I guess…” she muttered to herself, dismissing the alarm and rising to her feet. She lifted to her toes, stretching out her legs. “Damn people and their damn caffeine addictions…” she muttered more to herself than out loud, knowing full well the irony of her complaint.

Chugging the remainder of her coffee proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated. The heat fogged her glasses up, leaving her in a state of temporary blindness as the caramel macchiato drained from the cup.

“Katie!” Her manager called out.

With the last drips draining from the cup, Katie brought it down with a large gulp. “Coming!” she called back, tossing the empty cup in the trashcan. 

She reached for a pair of gloves from the box near the break room door. They snapped against her skin as slid them on. Every shift, she wished the gloves weren’t a requirement. They were hot, irritating, and often made her hands sweat so much inside that it was more disgusting than necessary. With a sigh, she exited the break room, making her way to the small device on the wall nearby that clocked the employees in and out. She punched her number in, stretching her other arm up.

“ _ Thank you, _ ” the device rang with her complete clock-in. 

But Katie only groaned. Her eyes caught the bright blue sign below the clock-in device. In white letters, it read  _ IGNORE ALL SPARKS _ . She sighed, her brows dropping into a sad expression. 

Soulmate sparks, better known just as Sparks, were a common occurrence. Every person has a soulmate in the world. Each person in the pair, when making direct contact, will feel a jolt of electricity through their body, resembling a static shock. Sometimes, the two sensations can be confused. People often mistake one for the other, either leading to missing out on the soulmate connection or trying to make a relationship work that just won’t work. The connection requires skin-to-skin contact, leading to all workplaces that have plenty of contact to require the use of gloves and clothing that covers the arms and legs, to prevent the connection being made while on the clock, distracting the employee or interrupting business.

It was annoying. Katie couldn’t care less about her soulmate. She would be perfectly content without having one, but she knew that they were out there. Somewhere. But for now, while working at the very least, she had to deal with it. Just a few hours before going to class herself and having the next few days off.

 

* * *

  
  


The hours passed seamlessly. Katie worked harder than normal, managing to take every person's order and fulfilling them without mistake. She prided herself on her work, regardless of what it was, and wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect.

“Katie!” A familiar voice called out to her.

She turned, her short hair tickling the back of her neck with her movements. Entering the shop was her older brother Matt, and his best friend, Takashi Shirogane.

She offered her toothy grin, bounding behind the counter to the register, excited to see the two. “Matt, Shiro!”

“You didn’t answer my texts, so I assumed correctly you were at work,” Matt chuckled.

Katie’s face fell, “Matt, my work schedule is on the family calendar online.”

Shiro burst into laughter at Matt’s sudden drop in gaiety. “Oh is it?” Matt asked, “Well, no matter. Two black coffees, please.”

Katie raised an eyebrow, “You mean a black coffee for Shiro and a white mocha for you?”

Matt’s cool composure broke, his face dropping again. “Oh come on, Pidge!”

“Don’t call me ‘Pidge’, Matt. I’m too old for that nickname.”

“You’re never too old for a nickname, Katie, especially from your family,” Shiro spoke, approaching closer behind Matt. 

Katie blushed, still pouting as she turned away. She could never deny her attraction to her brother’s best friend their entire time growing up together. He had always been incredibly handsome, kind, and had an air about him that exuded safety and comfort. She used to plan her days around running into him when he came over to hang out with her brother, trying her damndest to touch him to see if there was a spark. She’d trip and fall over at every chance, often just barely missing him.

Forget what she thought about soulmates before. She didn’t care about having a soulmate, unless it was Shiro.

“W-whatever, I’m gonna go make you guys your damn coffee.” She slunk off, trying to block out their conversation as she brewed their cups. Their laughter and conversations tended to be hushed, kept between the two of them best they could. She often wondered what the two talked about all the time. They spent almost every waking moment together. Katie often wondered how they’re relationship would change when they found their soulmates.

Especially if she and Shiro were soulmates.

She shook her head, quick to try and chase the thought away. It wasn’t likely, but sometimes it was fun to entertain the idea. Into her teen years, her innocent thoughts transitioned from the two of them holding hands and giggling like the way he and her brother did to wondering how he kissed, if his hands were rough, how would he woo her. The thoughts went further the more they aged, taking trips together to the beach. She had a hard time peeling her eyes away from his chest and abs, drawn to him more and more. At night, she sometimes wondered how he would sound whispering her name to her in the heat of the moment.

And then she wondered, what if she and Shiro weren’t soulmates (the more likely outcome), how would her relationship with her soulmate play out? Would she be able to be true to them? Would her feelings for Shiro disappear with her new relationship? 

Lost in her thoughts, she completed the two cups of coffee with her body in autopilot, going through the motions like clockwork. And, like she assumed, she made a black coffee for Shiro, and a white mocha for her brother. 

“Here you go, dorks,” she muttered, placing the two cups on the counter for the two of them, “I left some room for cream and sugar for you, Shiro.”

“Thanks, Katie,” he smiled at her, sending her heart to flutter and beat rapidly in her chest.

Blush dusted her cheeks, “N-no problem,” she turned away again, hoping to hide her red face.

“When do you get off, Pidge?” Matt asked, blowing on the coffee in the cup to cool it down.

“Hm,” she looked to the clock on the wall, “In about an hour.”

“Shiro’s brother is in town,” Matt continued on, nodding to her response, “We were wondering if you wanted to meet up and say hey. You haven’t seen each other since we were kids, after all.”

Katie turned back to her brother, an eyebrow raised, “Brother? I don’t remember a bro-”

A loud ring echoed in the emptying coffe shop. Slow hours were approaching, meaning the staff also thinned out to save on payroll costs. Shiro dug through his pockets, searching for his ringing cell phone. He retrieved it, with a bright look on his face, clicking on the receive button and lifting the phone to his ear.

“Keith, hey! Yes...yeah we’re on our way… No, we stopped by the coffee shop to see if Katie wanted to come…”

“Keith…” Katie muttered to herself, searching her memory for why the name sounded so familiar. “Matt, is Keith the brother?”

“Yeah? How do you not remember Keith? You guys were inseparable when we were younger.”

Katie pouted again, troubled at her inability to remember who this Keith person was. If the two were so inseparable, how come she couldn’t remember him at all? All her memories during her childhood revolved around chasing after Matt and Shiro.

“Mhm… no, it’s okay, we’ll just see you when you get there. Okay...yep, see you then.” Shiro brought the phone back down, ending the call on the line, “Keith’s going to be a little late, his plane was delayed and he’s just now landing.”

“No worries!” Matt exclaimed, “Gives us time to go to the game store. I heard the new Tiny Monsters game came out, and I promised Katie I’d get it for her.”

“Matt!” The blush returned as she scolded her brother for speaking about their agreement. 

“Relax, Pidge,” he teased, “Shiro knows you have a soft spot for animals, right?”

Shiro chuckled, hiking his bag further onto his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Katie, I’ll make sure he keeps his mouth shut. Your secret is safe with me,” he shot her a wink, and Katie swore her heart stopped right then and there, and she would be okay with that.

“Thanks, Shiro.”

The two exchanged a fleeting glance. Her heart pounded in her chest -- it had been a while since she had seen Shiro, and had honestly forgotten how taken she was by him. He and her brother had invested themselves in their coursework when they started college, holing themselves in their apartment or at the library, constantly studying and working on their engineering degrees in their respective field of interest. Shiro was interested in aerospace engineering, and Matt into robotic engineering. The two worlds often collided, which would spark a tangent conversation for the two, often leaving anyone in their vicinity at a loss. All except Katie, who managed to keep up fairly well considering she was also a robotics student at the same college. She was a few years behind the two, who were nearing their graduation, but she studied just as hard, often calling her brother when she had any questions.

“We’ll see you later, right, Pidge?”

“Katie!” She scolded again.

“I’ll text you the address!” Matt chuckled, scooting out the door, pulling Shiro behind him.

“Stupid Matt…” Katie grumbled to herself, wiping down the counter. The next hour would go slowly.

* * *

  
  


The clock ticked slower and slower before reaching its zenith at the hour mark, releasing her from her paying prison. She was close to skipping to the break room, excited to be free and to spend some time with Shiro, and her brother she supposed, for the first time in a while. She giddily clocked out, ripping the gloves from her hands and throwing them in the trash before entering the break room to retrieve her backpack. In it, she kept a change of clothes to keep from overheating during the late summer day. 

She almost tripped over herself a few times while locking herself in the bathroom, stripping off the long pants and long sleeved shirt in exchange for her brown shorts and a loose fitting tank top. The relief was instant with the removal of the constricting clothing. She felt immense pleasure stuffing them back into her backpack and away from her body.

She pulled the phone from the pocket in her bag, searching through her notifications for Matt’s text. The address took her about twenty minutes away by foot, which was nothing for her now. She would need a ride home, but she was sure her brother would drive her home. Or she would make him. She had a way with blackmail.

“Bye, Romelle!” Katie called out, exiting the bathroom and making her way to the door, waving to her manager who wasn’t even looking her way.

Katie never waited for a response. They usually led to poor conversation and she had no time for that today. Shiro was waiting for her. And Matt, she guessed. They were truly inseparable.

 

The location was a sort of bar -- or perhaps lounge was a better word, but it didn’t matter. She could hear the music coming through the walls as she approached, surprised the two of them would willingly come to a place like this. They were both more interested in quiet places, where they could share conversation. Maybe this was the mysterious brother Keith’s idea.

Shrugging, she decided it didn’t really matter. Katie rushed to climb the brick steps leading to the door. But like her usual clumsy self, her shoe caught on a step, launching her forward into the hard body of someone in front of her.

“Hey, watch it!” The stranger exclaimed, their voice gruff, quickly turning to see who fell into them.

Katie struggled to lift herself from the stranger’s body, a scowl on her face. “Jeez, sorry,” she scoffed, “Did I mess up your perfectly coiffed hair, pretty boy?” She gestured around her hair, mocking him.

The stranger was a good bit taller than she was, despite being a step above her. He had a hard stare and a weird mullet.  _ Who even still has mullets these days anyway? _ His own scowl matched her own in ferocity, neither backing down from the encounter. Katie had to admit, she had more moxie than she really needed, and probably shouldn’t be picking fights with strange men outside of a building she’s never been to.

The man scoffed, “Whatever, just watch your step.” He turned sharply, entering the building.

Katie rolled her eyes.  _ What a weirdo. _ There was no use in mulling over the encounter and pushed her own way inside. The music hit her like a shockwave. While loud outside, it didn’t compare to the volume and feel of it in the walls itself, the bass thumping through the floor and walls. This was definitely not a place Matt nor Shiro would be interested in, yet she found herself here all the same, and they were here waiting for her as well. Her eyes scanned over every table and every head in the building trying to find the two of them, and perhaps the mystery man, Keith. In the distance, she spot the unmistakable chiseled chin of Shiro, laughing at someone sitting across from him. 

“Pidge, you made it! I was worried I was gonna have to come get you.”

Katie turned to the voice to her right, finding her brother. “Matt?” She asked, an eyebrow raised. But if he was here, then who was Shiro laughing with?

“Come on,” he wrapped an arm around her neck, hanging over her shoulder, “Let’s go sit.”

She walked with her brother to the table. Shiro noticed their approach, pulling away from the interesting conversation he must have been having to smile toward Katie. Her heart soared, excited to see him only a bit later. She flashed him a smile, “Hey!” 

“Katie, I’m glad you could make it!” He smiled back, sliding over to let Matt settle in next to him. “I know it’s been a while, but I’d like to re-introduce you to my younger brother, Keith,” Shiro extended a hand toward a body across from him.

Katie walked forward, moving to extend her hand out to greet the brother. “Hi Keith, it’s ni--”   
She froze. Coming around the corner of the booth, Keith turned to face her, black mullet but a softer stare. That is, until he saw who it was.

“You!” They both exclaimed, pointing at each other.

“Oh, so you do remember each other!” Shiro beamed, “I’m glad!”

“What?” They both questioned, turning to Shiro. “No, we--” They started again, turning to eye each other down again, annoyed at their synchronization.

Katie groaned, “We ran into each other outside.”

Matt and Shiro each cocked their head in question.

“Literally ran into each other,” Keith grumbled, “She fell into me because she tripped up the stairs.” 

“Look, I’m sorry, alright?” She snapped.

The tension grew thicker and thicker. It would take a sword to cut through the animosity between the two. That is, until Shiro interjected himself, “Well, look, it was just an accident, right? Why don’t we just forget what happened and try and just move past it? It wasn’t a big deal,  _ right, Keith _ ?” Shiro stressed to his brother, giving him a stern look.

Keith turned away from both Katie and Shiro, pouting, “Yeah, fine, whatever.”

“Good. Now, slide over and let Katie in, okay?”

Keith groaned, sliding further into the booth, making a spot for Katie to join the group.

A small irritation was forming behind her eyes. This was going to be a long night.


End file.
